Nadean Carson graduated from college in the morning and was in the Air Force that evening. While serving she learned how important it was to protect the environment by preventing stormwater pollution. On this episode of Hazard Girls, Host Emily Soloby talks with Nadean about how she fell in love with stormwater which led to her founding her company Oya Construction which helps construction sites mitigate stormwater pollution while keeping construction going. As a woman owner of a successful construction company, Nadean provides career advice for underrepresented groups looking for a career in construction and some advice for traditional construction firms on how to be more flexible to retain talent.
Sn 4 #23 The Intersection of Modern Construction and Environmental Responsibility with Nadean Carson
MEET YOUR HOST
Emily Soloby
Emily received her BA in Women’s Studies and JD from Temple University. Early on, she worked as a legal advocate for women in domestic violence cases. After practicing law, Emily began working on the business side of things. She is the co-owner of AAA School of Trucking, a truck and heavy equipment safety training firm, which she has spent the last 10 years growing into a thriving national business through government and military contracting and corporate partnerships.
As an executive in the transportation industry, darting from client meeting to trucking range required safety boots that met her style standards, and when she couldn’t find them anywhere, she created Juno Jones Shoes. Emily trained in shoemaking in Cuernavaca, Mexico and at the Brooklyn Shoe Space, and assembled a powerhouse team of designers, consultants, and industry experts to bring Juno Jones to life. Through Juno Jones Shoes, Emily is fulfilling her dream of not only providing women with safe, stylish footwear options for their jobs but of helping to normalize and empower women in traditionally male-dominated fields.
For more information go to junojonesshoes.com.
SPECIAL GUEST
Nadean Carson
Nadean is a self-professed stormwater nerd. She started working with stormwater compliance in the Air Force and quickly realized how important stormwater pollution prevention was to the ecosystem. During her military career, she focused on construction and other civil engineering operations duties. When she separated from the military, she initially worked as a Geotechnical Engineer (that is a fancy way of saying that she worked in dirt) but found her way back to her true love of stormwater management in 2014. She created a Stormwater Management division at a local engineering firm, focused on helping clients manage the stormwater regulations that affect their development, as well as ensuring that the sites are limiting their contribution to Stormwater Pollution. She saw another stormwater need developing and decided to tackle it next. She started up Oya Construction as a way to properly install and maintain stormwater controls on construction sites, reducing the sediment deposition into waterways. She is passionate about keeping waterways clean and our environment beautiful. Nadean is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the University of Maryland, an Air Force veteran, and is a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
